Attracting Predators without Falling Prey: Chemical Camouflage Protects Honeydew-Producing Treehoppers from Ant Predation

Autor(es)

Silveira, Henrique C. P. ^[1] ; Oliveira, Paulo S. ^[1] ; Trigo, Jose R. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: American Naturalist; v. 175, n. 2, p. 261-268, FEB 2010.
• Citações Web of Science: 16

Resumo

Predaceous ants are dominant organisms on foliage and represent a constant threat to herbivorous insects. The honeydew of sap-feeding hemipterans has been suggested to appease aggressive ants, which then begin tending activities. Here, we manipulated the cuticular chemical profiles of freeze-dried insect prey to show that chemical background matching with the host plant protects Guayaquila xiphias treehoppers against predaceous Camponotus crassus ants, regardless of honeydew supply. Ant predation is increased when treehoppers are transferred to a nonhost plant with which they have low chemical similarity. Palatable moth larvae manipulated to match the chemical background of Guayaquila's host plant attracted lower numbers of predatory ants than unchanged controls. Although aggressive tending ants can protect honeydew-producing hemipterans from natural enemies, they may prey on the trophobionts under shortage of alternative food resources. Thus chemical camouflage in G. xiphias allows the trophobiont to attract predaceous bodyguards at reduced risk of falling prey itself. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 98/01065-7 - Ecologia química de substâncias do metabolismo secundário em interações entre plantas e insetos
• Beneficiário: Jose Roberto Trigo
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 08/54058-1 - Ecologia e comportamento de formigas neotropicais
• Beneficiário: Paulo Sergio Moreira Carvalho de Oliveira
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular